Brian Kelberg

A judge told jurors in the trial of Dr. Milos Klvana, who is accused of murdering infants through poor medical care, to begin their deliberations anew Monday after dismissing a juror who brought a dictionary into the jury room. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Judith C. Chirlin instructed the jury to start over after nine days of deliberations because the juror who brought the standard English dictionary to court last Thursday had to be replaced with an alternate.

Four second-degree murder charges will be added to the five already filed against a Valencia physician in the deaths of babies, prosecutors announced Thursday. Dr. Milos Klvana, 47, is accused by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office of incompetently caring for eight babies and one full-term fetus. The babies, who were delivered at their mothers' homes or at Klvana's offices in Valencia and Temple City, died shortly after birth.

A Valencia obstetrician and his midwife assistant were ordered Thursday to stand trial on second-degree murder charges stemming from the deaths of newborn babies under the doctor's care. After a four-month preliminary hearing, Los Angeles Municipal Judge James F. Nelson upheld six of the nine murder charges that had been filed against Dr. Milos Klvana, 47. Klvana's assistant, Delores Doyle, 35, of Montclair, was ordered to stand trial on two of the three counts of murder filed against her.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office Monday asked that two murder charges be added to the seven against Milos Klvana, a Valencia obstetrician charged in the deaths of newborn infants in his care. After his arrest in October, 1986, Klvana, 47, was charged with nine counts of second-degree murder. But in October, 1987, Municipal Court Judge James F. Nelson ordered that two of the charges be dropped.

Bail for a Valencia physician and his midwife assistant held in connection with the deaths of five newborn babies was continued at $1 million each on Friday. Their attorneys said the high bail will prevent a release before trial. Dr. Milos Klvana and assistant Dolores Doyle were arrested on Oct. 31. Prosecutors allege that they showed consistent negligence in treating high-risk pregnancies, many with home deliveries.

A judge on Thursday reinstated the $750,000 bail of a Valencia physician charged in the deaths of seven newborns, and sent him back to his jail cell. Dr. Milos Klvana, 47, is awaiting trial on six counts of second-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors allege he knowingly provided negligent medical care that led to the deaths.

The doctors and nurses who supervised Robert Dougherty, a Los Angeles Fire Department paramedic for nearly 20 years, said he took on too much, frequently prescribing treatment in the field without seeking the advice of physicians. His ambulance partners said he had a habit of leaving sick and injured patients to their own resources. His co-workers simply nicknamed him "Dr. Death."

Reporters shield themselves from emotion with detail--note-taking, schedules and the other arrangements of covering a story. They wrap themselves in a cocoon of impersonality as protection against the personal and professional tragedies they cover and sometimes cause by the revelations in their stories. Their habit is not unusual. Detachment is a refuge for surgeons, cops, lawyers and others whose work involves tragedy.

Investigators in the so-called Angel of Death case said Wednesday that they plan to exhume 20 bodies in their probe of a purported mercy killer who worked as a respiratory therapist at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Once the bodies are unearthed, investigators will search tissue samples for traces of succinylcholine chloride and Pavulon--prescription drugs that Efren Saldivar told police last year that he used to hasten the deaths of as many as 50 patients.